Legal and Institutional Structure of Water Management in Turkey

1. THELEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE WATER MANAGEMENT IN TURKEY Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs Directorate General of Water Management Water Law and Policy Development DepartmentWater Law and Policy Section

2. PRESENTATION OUTLINE LEGAL STRUCTURE CONSTITUTION CODES AND THE EU LEGAL ACQUIS REGULATIONS WATER LAW DRAFT INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF WATER MANAGEMENT DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF STATE HYDRAULIC WORKS WATER INSTITUTE

3. LEGAL STRUCTURE

4. Constitution Article No. 168 of the 1982 Constitution entitled “Exploration and Exploitation of Natural Resources”: “Natural wealth and resources shall be placed under the control of, and put at the disposal of the state. The right to explore and exploit resources belongs to the state. The state may delegate this right to individuals or public corporations for specific periods. Of the natural wealth and resources, those to be explored and exploited by the state in partnership with individuals or public corporations, and those to be directly explored and exploited by individuals or public corporations shall be subject to the explicit permission of the law. The conditions to be observed in such cases by individuals and public corporations, the procedure and principles governing supervision and control by the state, and the sanctions to be applied shall be prescribed by law.”

5. CODES AND THE EU ACQUIS At present, no national framework law exists that lays out the general bases and procedures regarding the protection and management of water in Turkey and the existing water law arrangements are rather dispersed; these take place in approximately thirty codes and secondary regulations.

6. CODES AND THE EU ACQUIS Arrangements such as Water Law No.831 were ratified in the 1920’s and have not been profoundly revised to date. Essentially, the provision and management of waters to meet the needs of the public in cities, towns and villages are arranged in this.

7. CODES AND THE EU ACQUIS Law No. 167 regarding Groundwaters entered into force in 1960. This law introduced the principle that groundwaters are under the provision and at the disposal of the state and arranges all types of operations regarding the research, use, protection and registration of these waters.

8. CODES AND THE EU ACQUIS Law No. 7487 regarding the Drinking Waters of Villages was issued and came into effect in 1960. The regulation contains arrangements regarding the agencies and institutions to meet the drinking and utility water needs of villages as well as provisions regarding the procedures and principles to be followed in the distribution and allocation of these waters.

9. CODESANDTHEEUACQUIS Law No. 4373 entitled Act of Protection Against Overflows and Floods was enacted in 1943. This law arranges the measures and actions to be taken in case of overflows floods.

10. CODES AND THE EU ACQUIS The Metropolitan MunicipalityLaw No. 5216 came into effect in 2004. This law aims at the protection of the environment, agricultural areas and water basins in metropolitan municipalities by applying the principle of sustainable growth. Additionally, the law gives municipalities the authorization and responsibility to undertake water and sewage services, to construct and operate or to let others to construct and operate dams and other plants for such purpose; to engage in improvement of rivers, marketing of spring waters and purified waters.

11. CODESANDTHEEUACQUIS Municipality Law No. 5393 came into effect in 2005. Thislaw gives municipalities the powers and privileges to supply utility and industrial water; to enable disposal of waste water and rain water; to construct or let others to construct and operate plants for such purposes and the like.

12. CODESANDTHEEUACQUIS İWSA (İSKİ) Law No. 2560 was enacted in 1981. This law sets out the authorities of the Istanbul Water and Sewage Administration. Accordingly, water and sewage administrations (within the border of all metropolitan municipalities) are responsible for taking legal, technical and administrative measures to preserve water and prevent water pollution. The law also regulates the establishment, maintenance, repair, amendment and operation of the sewage system that collects wastewaters and wastewater infrastructure systems in which wastewaters are treated and treated wastewaters are disposed.

13. CODESANDTHEEUACQUIS EU legislation is also being integrated into the Turkish legal system by means of regulations at the law and bylaw levels in the framework of hierarchy of norms. Chief among these is the Water Framework Directive.

14. REGULATIONS Arrangements concerning water legislation at the regulation level also exist in our country. One such arrangement is the 1961 Regulation on Ground Waters,which was put into effect to show the application of the Groundwaters Law and contains arrangements concerning groundwater operational areas.

15. REGULATIONS Further regulations include the Water Pollution Control Regulation, Quality of Surface Water Intended for the Abstraction of Drinking Water Regulation, Urban Wastewater Treatment Regulation, Regulation on the Control of Pollution Caused by Hazardous Substances in Water Bodies and Environs, Regulation on the Auditing of Water Structures, Swimming Water Quality Regulation and the Regulation Concerning Water Intended for Human Consumption, among others.

16. REGULATIONS The Water Pollution Control Regulation came into effect in 2004. The aim of the regulation is to bring out the technical and legal principles required for the determination of Water Pollution Control Principles with the purpose of actualizing utilization of the country’s water resources potential protection, ensuring maximum optimized use and prevention of water pollution in harmony withthe economic and social development objectives.

17. REGULATIONS The Quality of SurfaceWaterIntendedfortheAbstraction of DrinkingWater Regulation cameintoeffect in 2005. Thisregulation has beenissuedtodeterminetheprinciples, qualitycriteria and necessarytreatmenttypesforsurfacewatersintendedfortheabstraction of drinkingwater.

18. REGULATIONS The Urban Wastewater Treatment Regulation came into effect in 2006. It has been set out to protect the environment against the adverse effects of urban wastewater collection, treatment and discharge as well as the wastewater discharge from certain sectors. Our ministry runs operations regarding the design and criteria of wastewater treatment systems together with the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning.

19. REGULATIONS The Regulation on the Control of Pollution Caused by Hazardous Substances in Water Bodies and Environs came into effect in 2005. The aims of the aformentioned regulation are the identification of hazardous substances in waters that cause pollution, the creation of programs for the reduction of pollution, the prevention and monitoring of pollution, the setting up of an inventory of hazardous substances discharged into water, the determining of discharge standards and quality criteria and the prevention of pollution.

20. REGULATIONS The Regulation Concerning Water Intended for Human Consumption went into effect in 2005. The aim of this regulation is; to provide the technical and hygienic conditions and ensure the quality standards of the waters for human consumption and; to organize the basics and procedures regarding the production, packaging, labeling, marketing and auditing of the spring and drinking waters.

21. REGULATIONS In addition to the aforementioned regulations, the following ones are prepared by the Directorate General of Water Management and entered into force: - Regulation on the Protection of River Basins and Preparation of Management Plans - Regulation on the protection of groundwaters against pollution and degeneration - Regulation on the Management of Surface Water Quality - Regulation on the Monitoring of Groundwaters and Surface Waters - Regulation on the Control of Water Losses on Supplying and Distributing Systems of Drinking Water

22. WATERACTDRAFTBILL Factors such as the rapid increase in the demand for water stemming from worldwide population increases over the past years, insensible water use, the decrease in water quality, global climate change and environmental pollution have increased national and global sensitivity towards water resources.

23. WATERACTDRAFTBILL Because of these reasons, specific water-related laws are prepared and the relevant legislation is accumulated under a single heading in many countries in order to be able to implement any policy that relate to water-based problems effectively.

24. WATERACTDRAFTBILL Against this background, our General Directorate has made a big contribution to preparation of Water Act Draft Bill that is planned to be presented soon to the Turkish Parliament for approval by legislature.

25. INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE

26. THE GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF WATER MANAGEMENT 04.07.2011-decree law No. 645 Duties: • Determining policies regarding water resources • Coordination of water management • Preparing river basin management plans on basin bases • Conducting actions for the prevention of pollution on basin bases • Conducting activities for the protection of ground and surface waters on a quality and amount basis and monitoring the water quality • Determining strategies and policies regarding floodings

27. THE GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF WATER MANAGEMENT • Coordinating the allocation of water resources on a sectoral basis • Following relevant international treaties and legislation • Running activities regarding cross-border and bordering waters in cooperation • Building a national water information system • Identifying nd monitoring areas that are sensitive to pollution • Running activities regarding treatment facilities of drinking and utility water • Conducting research on the effects of climate change on water resources

28. THE GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF STATE HYDROULIC WORKS • Established in 1953 with Establishment Act No. 6200. • The activities of the Directorate General of Hydraulic Works are based on acts No. 6200, 167 and 1053.

29. THE GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF STATE HYDROULIC WORKS • The Establishment Act No. 6200 (Effective on 28 February 1953) empowers the Directorate General to run the following activities: • The construction of dams, • The operation of structures against floods, • The building of irrigation and drainage systems, • The reclamation of swamps, • The production of hydroelectric power, • The improvement ofnavigable rivers, • Research, projects or construction works the above-named, • The operation, maintenance and repair of these facilities.

30. THE GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF STATE HYDROULIC WORKS • The Ground Water Act No. 167 (Effective on 16 December 1960) empowers the Directorate General to run the following activities: • The drilling of wells for ground water examinations and research, • The allocation of ground water, • The protection and registration of groundwaters, • The issuing of exploration, utlilization and improvement-modification certificates.

31. THE GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF STATE HYDROULIC WORKS • The Domestic, Usage and Industrial Water Supply Act for Settlements with Municipality (Effective on 3 July 1968) settles the following: • Dam and water transmission lines, • Construction of water treatment plants, • The construction of water storage facilities.

32. THE TURKISH WATER INSTITUTE With decree law No. 658, dated 02.11.2011, the Secretariat of the 5th World Water Forum held in Istanbul was transformed into a Water Institute. The main responsibilities of the Water Institute are conducting academic studies and educational programs on water.

33. THANK YOU Serap PERÇİN Director of Water Law and Policy Section